Hello families,

NAPLAN

NAPLAN is the National Assessment Program – literacy and numeracy, for years 3, 5, 7 and 9. It is a nationwide measurement for students and teachers to determine whether young Australians are developing their literacy and numeracy skills.

Each year during the NAPLAN testing period there is a lot of debate surrounding the benefits of NAPLAN. Experts are sourced from each side and the newspapers and tv stations try to weigh in on the debate. But arguments aside here at St Joseph’s we focus on trying to make the learning stick by creating memorable experiences for our students that are grounded in the Australian curriculum.

Last week our Year 5 and 6 students participated in a full day of Maths. The theme for this day was Fibonacci as the students have been focusing on Algebra and patterns. The Fibonacci sequence, in which each number is the sum of the two preceding ones. 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, ... The students were able to find Fibonacci’s sequence around the school in the natural surrounds and in architecture. The students also created works of art and poems based on the sequence. By immersing the students in patterns, they were able to develop a deeper understanding of how to form complex patters and how to solve problems involving patterns which is the foundation of Algebra.

St Joseph's Day Stalls

This real-life learning was also evident in the St Joseph’s Day stall’s where the children in Year 3 and 4 came up with a product or service they wanted to sell to raise money for charity. The children had to put their understanding of exchanging money into action and work out the change for each of their customers. This key skill is part of their Mathematics curriculum but there is no better way to learn how to exchange money than by doing in a real-life situation.

Catholic Education Week

Each year we celebrate Catholic Education Week and each year we have a different theme. This year’s theme was "thank you". You may have seen our Facebook post recently where the students at St Joseph’s thanked different staff members from St Joseph’s. If you get a chance, head over to our Facebook page and send your thanks to a staff member in the comments section.

Have a great week.

Emma Fowler 
Deputy Principal